Main Reasons Children Suffer Devastating Brain Injuries

While it can be traumatic for an adult to suffer a brain injury, it can be much more catastrophic for a child to suffer a serious brain injury because it can affect the rest of his life. If the brain damage is severe enough, it can leave a child permanently disabled and in need of care for his basic day-to-day needs. This can be heartbreaking for his family who must worry about carrying for their child’s needs on a long-term basis. Unfortunately, many of these tragic injuries are caused in accidents and by negligent behaviors—often preventable.

What Are the Major Causes of Brain Injury in Children?

Brain injuries are often caused by a blow or blunt force to the head that causes the brain to shake within the skull. It can cause serious damage to the still-developing brain tissue in children. Even “minor” concussions can cause permanent brain damage if a child suffers more than one concussion. Common causes of brain injuries in children include:

Sports. Many of the sports activities that children participate in can cause a concussion, traumatic brain injury, or other serious brain injury. Football, hockey, water polo, and cheerleading are a few of the sports where head injuries are a danger.

Vehicle accidents. While children who ride in automobiles unrestrained are at most risk, other children wearing a seatbelt or in a car seat also suffer brain injuries when their brains are shaken or hit by or against an object due to the force of the impact in a vehicle accident.

Slip and fall accidents. Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common causes of traumatic brain injury in children. Like adults, there are many dangers of slip and fall accidents at grocery stores, malls, stores, schools, and many more places due to wet floors, debris, damaged flooring, and potholes and cracks in parking lots. In addition, fun activities that kids like to engage in, such as rollerblading, skateboarding, and bicycle riding can result in a fall and a brain injury.

Child abuse. When a child is struck by or against an object or shaken violently, such as in shaken baby syndrome when being abused by a parent or other caregiver, he can suffer permanent brain damage.

Struck by or against accidents. When kids are playing around, fighting, or playing a game, they can suffer a blow to a head if an object, such as a bat or other toy, hits their head.

Birth injuries. There are many birth injuries often caused by medical malpractice resulting in infants suffering catastrophic brain injuries that prevent them from ever living independently. Deprivation of oxygen, physical trauma to the head at birth, undiagnosed infections in the mother, and failure to diagnose a difficult birth are a few of the reasons that infants suffer traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and other devastating medical conditions that lead to brain damage.

It can be extremely difficult for the families of children to cope with the limitations in mobility, personality challenges, reasoning and other cognitive difficulties, seizures, insomnia, and other changes caused by brain damage. Often one parent must stay home on a full-time basis to care for the child and to get him through the challenges of going to school and living as normal a life as possible. On a long-term basis, families can struggle with financial and emotional challenges of taking care of a child’s needs as he grows into an adult who may not be able take care of himself.

Let Us Help You Protect Your Child’s Rights

If your child suffered a brain injury due to an individual’s or business’ negligence, it is critical that you pursue your child’s legal rights for compensation to ensure that he will receive the care he needs throughout his life. To learn how our experienced legal team can help you protect your child, call our office to schedule a free consultation.